Milwaukee Coast Guardsmen medevac Alpena man from tugboat in Lake Michigan

Coast Guard District 9 NewsCLEVELAND – A U.S. Coast Guard boatcrew from Station Milwaukee medically evacuated an Alpena, Mich., man who was experiencing difficulty breathing and numbness of his arm aboard a tugboat in Lake Michigan early Thursday morning.

The captain aboard the tugboat Undaunted requested a medevac for the 39-year-old man at about 2 a.m. CST Thursday, reporting the crewman had been experiencing the symptoms on and off for about a week, and the symptoms were getting worse.

A Coast Guard flight surgeon, who makes the ultimate determination on what warrants emergency transport, was contacted and briefed and authorized the medevac.

A boatcrew from Station Milwaukee launched aboard a 45-foot Response Boat – Medium at 2:25 a.m. and arrived on scene with the tugboat about 16 miles east of Milwaukee at 3:05 a.m. The boatcrew embarked the man and transported him to Station Milwaukee where he was met by awaiting EMS for further transport to Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee.


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